As I recall...

Seems like there have been a lot of recalls the last few years, doesn't it? If it's not tainted peanut butter or questionable produce, it's lead-paint laden toys or faulty baby slings.

In fact, March's SlingRider recall prompted one baby carrier manufacturer to take a look at the numbers and create this sweet infographic* illustrating which baby products were recalled from January 2009 through April 2010.

(*P.S. Dontcha just love infographics?! Numbers are so much better when they have pictures to go along with them.)

Are baby slings dangerous?

I'm a fan of babywearing. I love how it gives parents a simple, practical way to hold a baby close, while they get things done around the house, shop, take care care of an older child or even head out of town.

So when I heard that there was a big baby sling recall going on, and that the CPSC was advising caution for using slings with infants under four months, I was concerned. I wanted to know what was going on, research what the issue was and find out how far-reaching the problem was. However, Megan at SortaCrunchy saved me the trouble.

She wrote a fabulous post about safe vs. unsafe babywearing. As it turns out, it all depends on what baby carrier you're using and how you're using it.

If you are interested in more information, I would highly recommend checking out her post and the resources she links to.

****

Photo by zimpenfish.

REPLAY: Babies in Bolivia

Continuing to replay a series of photos from the first year of this blog, in celebration of Little Stuff of Life's blogiversary. This one originally aired August 31, 2007.

****

I'm not going to talk too much about our Bolivia trip overall here, since you can read all about it here. But there are a couple baby/kid related thoughts and stories I had to share.

• DIY baby carriers. One other thing Naomi (official trip photog) really wanted a photo of was a woman carrying a baby in a bundle on her back. We saw lots of people carrying various things - including babies - in blankets they tied to their backs, but never could quite get that Kodak moment.
• Reusable disposables? Naomi is pretty sure she saw disposable diapers hanging out on a clothesline. We kept an eye out for them after that (would've loved to have a photo of that!) but never saw anything like it again. That would put a whole new twist on the diaper debate, wouldn't it? (Speaking of new twists, a certain new-father-to-be I know recommends skipping diapers altogether and just hosing the little one off as necessary. )
• No klutzy kids here! The kids at the orphanage we worked at were amazing. They knew how to do all kinds of cool stuff without hurting themselves. The ground was really hilly there, and you'd see a little girl standing right on the edge of a drop off, but she wouldn't fall. The Hubs saw kids under 10 cleaning up the grounds with machetes (they seem to prefer those over weed-whippers in Bolivia) and no one was missing fingers. Later, some boys talked the Hubs into helping them build a fort. When they showed him what they had done so far, they were placing large sticks into - not mud - concrete. (We're still not sure where they got that from.) The suburban kids I know tend to do things like cut themselves when opening a pocketknife or fall off the curb. What does it take to have kids that don't constantly injure themselves? Do you need to move to the jungle?
  

Ok, that's enough for now. I'll try to post a few more photos later.

Babywearing Week highlights

A few great posts from International Babywearing week (last week):

• Babywearing Ambassador
• Babywearing - it’s not just for fussy babies
• Babywearing Tip: Wearing Baby On Your Back

And a couple of helpful articles I recently discovered on babywearing:

• Glossary of Babywearing Terms
• Pros and Cons of Selected Types of Babycarriers

If I missed your International Babywearing week post, feel free to include a link with your comment.

*****

Photo by squiddles. CCL.

The deal with babywearing

We're right in the middle of International Babywearing Week! (Which I know, thanks to Megan's post.)

If you're wondering what babywearing is or what the big deal is or why a parent would want to walk around carrying a baby in a sling, this post explains it beautifully. Enjoy!

*********

Photo by Pepper44. CCL.

Nice if it gets cold where you are

In some parts of the world, forecasts for the first days of Fall do not include 100-degree temperatures. But, whether you're wearing a jacket this week or just dreaming about it, you have to admit this is a pretty clever product.

It's a fleece vest, called the Peekaru Original, that fits over a baby carrier. The vest is designed to keep both parent and child warm and is made out of 85% recycled Polartec fleece.

Not surprisingly, the mom who came up with the idea lived in Colorado - not Phoenix.

*****

P.S. We're in Indiana this week, but I wrote this up for you ahead of time.

Photo courtesy of TogetherBe.

Pouches...get your pouches...

We interrupt posts about World Breastfeeding Week to let you know that Heather of Sleek Mama is closing up shop! She will be spending more time with her three little boys and blogging about ways to encourage creative play at Playful Childhood.

So that means this week is your last chance to order a Sleek Mama pouch! And they're only $20! (This is updated from what the web says.) You'll need to visit the website ASAP, since it's going down tomorrow, but you can order all week.

I've mentioned before how much I dig these. Here are a few more fabulous things about these over-the-shoulder baby carriers:

• Made from stylish yet sturdy fabric.
• Can use with newborns.
• Easy to take a wiggly toddler in and out.
• Babies feel safe and snug inside.
• Fold up very small - can fit in your purse.
• Can double as a nursing blanket. (So we are on topic!)
• Dad-friendly fabrics available too.

So there you go. If you need a pouch, go get ya one this week!

There's a time, a place, and a conference for everything

Did you know there's a babywearing conference? Yep. It's four days long. And I'm a little baffled by the whole thing. Who goes to a babywearing conference? Maybe I could see it if you sell items for babywearing. But how many people fall into that category?

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for carrying your baby in a sling/pouch/mei tai/soft carrier type thing. And I get that having your child close to you is great bonding, etc., but I really don't understand how the subject merits an entire conference.

Granted, there are several workshops on the schedule that don't seem to be babywearing-specific (i.e. "Website 101," "Intro to Cloth Diapers," and "Mom and Baby Yoga") and several more on businessy things (like "Legal Considerations for BW Vendors" and "Owning a Bricks [sic] and Mortar Store"). There are, however, plenty of workshops just about babywearing, and that's what confounds me the most. How much knowledge does one need in order to wear a baby? Am I missing something here?

Attaching the dots

When I started this blog, I thought I'd look at the diaper debate for a couple weeks, then move on to baby carriers, strollers, etc. Nothing has been as simple as it seemed. Why did that surprise me?

I was about ready to choose cloth diapers over disposable when I found out that "none of the above" is actually an option. Need to read up on that.


I thought carrying your baby around in a sling/pouch was just handy, little did I know that simple action came with its own terminology (noun: babywearing; verb: to babywear) and often a whole philosophy. Need to read up on that too.

When I read that both those things - along with breastfeeding, co-sleeping and probably some other activities that help you pass the granola mom test - can be all connected under the "attachment parenting" umbrella, I realized I had a lot to learn. And a lot of reading to do.



Photos: As I have no babies, and therefore, no baby stuff, I have to use photos of other people's baby stuff. In this case, Twelve Paws (photo 1) and Sean Dreilinger (photo 2). Yay for Creative Commons ! (Licenses: photo 1 and photo 2.)

Babies in Bolivia - part 2

As promised, just a few more pics....

Babies are adorable wherever you go.



Here's a woman with her homemade "backpack." Sometimes we'd see women carrying babies on top of their stuff, but I don't think anyone was quick enough to get a photo.



It's so hard to get kids to wash their hands. Do you think motivational posters in the bathroom would help?

Babies in Bolivia

I'm not going to talk too much about our Bolivia trip overall here, since you can read all about it here. But there are a couple baby/kid related thoughts and stories I had to share.

• DIY baby carriers. One other thing Naomi (official trip photog) really wanted a photo of was a woman carrying a baby in a bundle on her back. We saw lots of people carrying various things - including babies - in blankets they tied to their backs, but never could quite get that Kodak moment.
• Reusable disposables? Naomi is pretty sure she saw disposable diapers hanging out on a clothesline. We kept an eye out for them after that (would've loved to have a photo of that!) but never saw anything like it again. That would put a whole new twist on the diaper debate, wouldn't it? (Speaking of new twists, a certain new-father-to-be I know recommends skipping diapers altogether and just hosing the little one off as necessary. )
• No klutzy kids here! The kids at the orphanage we worked at were amazing. They knew how to do all kinds of cool stuff without hurting themselves. The ground was really hilly there, and you'd see a little girl standing right on the edge of a drop off, but she wouldn't fall. The Hubs saw kids under 10 cleaning up the grounds with machetes (they seem to prefer those over weed-whippers in Bolivia) and no one was missing fingers. Later, some boys talked the Hubs into helping them build a fort. When they showed him what they had done so far, they were placing large sticks into - not mud - concrete. (We're still not sure where they got that from.) The suburban kids I know tend to do things like cut themselves when opening a pocketknife or fall off the curb. What does it take to have kids that don't constantly injure themselves? Do you need to move to the jungle?
  

Ok, that's enough for now. I'll try to post a few more photos later.

Favorite (little) things

So you may have noticed the "favorite little stuff" list in the sidebar. The one that, at the moment, says "coming soon." As I start getting this baby stuff figured out, that's where I'll list my top picks. Obviously, I'm still sorting.

However, I'm definitely a fan of these hands-free baby carriers by Sleek Mama. The fabrics are gorgeous and you can go with the sling option shown here (a "pouch") or this other style that's a cross between an apron and a backpack made to hold a baby (called a "mei tai." If you still can't picture it, go here.). I'm not sure what the pros and cons are of each style, but I plan to try some on and investigate. Stay tuned!

Photo used by permission. This is a pouch with the Stephanie fabric option. (Nice name, huh?! ;) )